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Yes.

In 2020, Dane County Judge Susan Crawford sentenced Kevin D. Welton to four years in prison after a prosecutor requested 10.

Welton was charged with touching a 6-year-old girl’s privates in a club swimming pool in 2010 and with twice touching a 7-year-old girl’s privates in the same pool on one day in 2018.

Welton was convicted of three felonies, including first-degree sexual contact.

Crawford and Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel are running in the April 1 Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

An ad from an Elon Musk–funded group said Crawford could have imposed 100 years.

A 100-year maximum was allowed, but highly unlikely, given the prosecutor’s request. Welton’s lawyer requested probation.

Crawford said the crimes occurring years apart made Welton a repeat offender, requiring prison, but were less serious than other sexual assaults, and 10 years was longer than needed for rehabilitation.

Welton’s appeals failed. Released in January 2024, he is on extended supervision until 2030.

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Tom Kertscher joined Wisconsin Watch as a full-time reporter in October 2024. He started as a fact checker in January 2023 and contributes to our collaboration with the The Gigafact Project to fight misinformation online. Kertscher is a former longtime newspaper reporter, including at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He is a contributing writer for Milwaukee Magazine and sports freelancer for The Associated Press.